Rachel Sennott appears on the video call and right away launches into an excuse. “Oh my God – I’m sorry!” she states, appearing truly regretful. She is only a couple of minutes delayed, she feels compelled to justify. “I have such a problem, because I’m a yapper on the phone. “Previous discussions went over, and I realized I talk too much!” Luckily, during an interview, that’s exactly what is ideal to hear. Moreover, it’s fairly unsurprising. Viewers familiar with the fearlessly openly gay and unapologetically crass project Bottoms—which Sennott co-wrote with Emma Seligman and featured in alongside collaborator The Bear’s standout—will understand that Sennott has a lot to say, be it about gender, sex, or the appeal of starting a high-school fight club. Plus, once you finish the latest multi-episode HBO series titled I Love LA, viewers realize that the star holds further thoughts regarding the darker side of Gen Z life (Now in her thirties, she serves as a relatable figure of the gang, straddling eras skilled for bridging both generations).
Guiding Lights and Artistic Direction
Parallels to Lena Dunham’s groundbreaking show naturally arise and the actress readily acknowledges an admirer, referencing it alongside Sex and the City, Insecure and the innovative program as guides for the project, which tracks the travails of online personality played by Odessa A’Zion and ally and new representative Maia. Perhaps, the most significant presence on creative vision was reserved for the popular sitcom, that program depicting a rising Hollywood star succeeding in an often-seedy entertainment industry (memorable line: “nobody’s happy in this town except for the losers”). She began viewing it during the pandemic, became “hooked”, and resolved to add a fresh perspective on it “with female and queer audiences in mind”.
“I sought to highlight online platforms as the new industry, since my professional journey launched there,” she says. The idea for this project originated—to some extent—from firsthand, initially difficult, relocation to Tinseltown and from her astrological phase, a popular event for enthusiasts. That period marked a time that saw her grasp some big life lessons, work-wise and personally. “My twenties began with constant public emotional outbursts and disorganization,” she says. “Settling in LA during my mid-twenties brought calm, but soon everything unraveled.” It was almost like these biblical tests …”
Starting Out
Raised in New England, the star began developing and showcasing humor while enrolled in acting at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. “I went through all the proper channels to try to perform, and they weren’t gelling,” she explains. “Auditions for university comedy troupes led to universal rejection. “Theatre productions at school also didn’t accept me. And I just felt like, what am I doing here?”
She took matters into her own hands, appearing at open mics with Edebiri and sharing hysterical (and very) bizarre comedy videos digitally. A particular video, Baby Cult, depicted characters fetishistically drawn to having babies; a different one portrayed working at the preppy clothing store Hollister as similar to being trapped in a thriller. By chance, she met Emma through campus film circles and ended up featuring in her initial project, titled Shiva Baby, a stressful film set at a religious event with hints of Uncut Gems. The central motif of her journey, she explains, has been contemporaries offering opportunities, as opposed to established gatekeepers. So, not the gatekeepers, then? “They were not involved”, she confirms, adding with a laugh: “They don’t want us to win.”
Manifesting Dreams
Individuals who had doubts regarding her previously will surely be feeling foolish now. In what she calls a “astonishingly complete” turn of events, she appears to achieved the perfect project. In 2019 she posted a video called about Los Angeles on the internet, in which she parodied Hollywood trailers (“Everyone’s hooked on something”). Now, she’s a lead creator (with Emma Barrie) of a show about LA residents balancing benefits of internet fame (such as celebrating at a famous actor’s house) with its pitfalls (your associate being suspected of being a drug-addled stealer, and perhaps becoming a “brand unsafe” pariah). It would be easy to create a series about online fame that was extremely glamorous—or, even less favorable, one that belittled at its subjects. This show avoids both, resulting in a depiction of advantaged millennial life that’s candid about the mess and the appeal.
Nuanced Portrayal
“Many programs portray youth and online life with disdain and mockery,” she says. “I think that young people have been through a lot – I’m mostly thinking of people younger than me, like my little sister, who went to college during Covid, so she had to come home, or my other sister who was doing school online.”|“The younger generation has faced significant
